LAWRENCE  J.  GUTTER 

Collection  of  Chicagoana 

THE   UNIVERSITY   OF   ILLINOIS 
AT  CHICAGO 

The  University  Library 


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7 


William   Penn   Nixon 


WILLIAM    PENN   NIXON 


Proceedings  of  the 

Testimonial  Banquet 

Given  by  the 

Old  Inter  Ocean  Boys'  Club 

To  their  Former  Chief 

William   Penn  Nixon 


At  the  Palmer  House,  Chicago,  on  the 
Evening  of 

November  22,  1904 


Chicago 

Printed  for  Private  Distribution 
1905 


fffif  Infusttir  ^3rrB« 

R.   R.   DONNBLLKV   &   SONS  COMPANY 
CHICAGO 


HOW  IT  CAME  ABOUT 

At  a  casual  meeting  of  three  or  four  of  the  old  Inter  Ocean 
boys  during  the  early  fall  of  1904,  the  conclusion  was  reached 
that  it  would  be  a  good  idea  to  organize  a  club,  to  be  composed 
of  the  members  of  the  Inter  Ocean  staff  serving  prior  to  1880. 
Suiting  the  action  to  the  word,  the  Club  was  formed,  and  bap- 
tized the  Old  Inter  Ocean  Boys'  Club,  and  officers  elected  as 
follows : 

George  B.  Armstrong,  President. 

W.  J.  Irvin,  Treasurer. 

Thomas  O.  Thompson,  Secretary. 

Thomas  C.  MacMillan,  Chairman  Entertainment  Com- 
mittee. 

It  was  at  once  decided  that  the  first  official  act  of  the  Club 
should  take  the  shape  of  a  banquet  to  our  former  chief,  William 
Penn  Nixon,  a  man  whom  we  all  revere  with  a  tenderness  that 
is  shown  toward  an  honored  parent,  for  Mr.  Nixon  was,  in- 
deed, the  father  and  guiding  spirit  of  the  old  Inter  Ocean 
family.  The  banquet  was  given  at  the  Palmer  House  on  the 
evening  of  Tuesday,  November  22,  1904,  and  was,  in  every 
detail,  a  highly  enjoyable  affair. 

The  most  entertaining  feature  of  the  evening  was  the  reading 
of  letters  from  the  old  Inter  Ocean  boys  who  were  unable  to 
be  present,  but  who  were  with  us  in  spirit,  and  who  testified  to 
their  touching  regard  for  Mr.  Nixon  in  the  messages  that 
were  sent. 

The  proceedings  of  this  banquet  are  published  not  only  as 
a  palpable  evidence  of  the  fondness  of  the  old  Inter  Ocean 
boys  for  their  chief,  but  because  they  will  be  an  eloquent  re- 
minder of  one  of  the  happiest  epochs  of  their  lives,  when  the 
enthusiasm  and  energy  of  youth  tinged  every  phase  of  life  with 
a  rosy  hue. 

5 


BRIEF  SKETCH  OF  WILLIAM  PENN  NIXON 

William  Penn  Nixon  was  born  at  Newport,  Wayne  County, 
Indiana,  the  son  of  Samuel  and  Rhoda  Nixon.  The  parents 
were  Quakers,  and  the  father  was  a  prominent  figure  in  the 
Abolition  movement  in  the  West.  From  both  his  parents 
Mr.  Nixon  inherited  those  sturdy  traits  of  character  which 
have  given  him  so  strong  a  personality  in  his  later  years. 

At  the  age  of  fourteen  he  was  placed  in  an  academy  in 
Ohio,  where  he  remained  two  years;  after  this  he  attended 
the  Quaker  school  at  Richmond,  Indiana,  and  in  1854  he 
graduated  from  the  Farmers'  College  in  Cincinnati.  A  four 
years'  course  in  the  Law  Department  of  the  University  of 
Pennsylvania,  from  which  he  was  graduated  in  1859,  finished 
his  education.  He  returned  to  Cincinnati  and  entered  upon 
the  active  practice  of  his  profession. 

In  1864  he  was  elected  to  the  Ohio  Legislature  in  which 
body  he  served  two  terms.  With  his  brother,  Dr.  Oliver  W. 
Nixon,  and  other  friends,  William  Penn  Nixon  started  the 
Cincinnati  Chronicle.  He  sold  out  his  interest  in  that  journal 
in  1870  and  came  to  Chicago  in  1872,  and  located  here  as 
business  manager  of  The  Inter  Ocean.  He  was  the  con- 
trolling spirit  of  The  Inter  Ocean  from  that  date  until  1898, 
a  period  of  twenty-six  years  of  journalistic  activity. 

Mr.  Nixon  was  president  of  the  Western  Associated  Press 
for  several  years,  and  afterwards  was  president  of  the  Asso- 
ciated Press.  He  was  president  of  the  Lincoln  Park  Board 
of  Commissioners,  and  the  Republicans  of  Illinois  honored 
him  in  1896  by  naming  him  as  delegate  at  large  to  the  conven- 
tion at  St.  Louis  that  nominated  William  McKinley  for  Presi- 
dent, a  fitting  climax  to  a  long  and  honorable  career. 

7 


He  was  appointed  Collector  of  Customs  at  the  port  of 
Chicago  by  President  McKinley  in  December,  1897,  and  was 
reappointed  to  the  same  position  by  President  Roosevelt  in 
December,  1902. 


PROGRAMME 

1.  ADDRESS  BY  THE  PRESIDENT,  GEORGE  B.  ARMSTRONG  13 

2.  TOASTMASTER  WlLLIAM  H.  BuSBEY'S  ADDRESS     -  21 

3.  RESPONSE  BY  WILLIAM  PENN  NDCON    -  25 

4.  ADDRESS  BY  A.  C.  THOMAS     -  29 

5.  REMARKS  BY  B.  FRANK  HOWARD     -  31 

6.  POEM  BY  W.  H.  HARPER       -  -  33 

7.  REMARKS  BY  ALD.  W.  P.  DUNN     -  -  35 

8.  REMARKS  BY  THOMAS  C.  MACMILLAN  -  -  37 

9.  REMARKS  BY-T.  O.  THOMPSON      -  -  39 
10.  LETTERS  FROM  THE  OLD  BOYS  -  43 

DR.  O.  W.  NIXON  -  45 

MAJOR  E.  W.  HALFORD      -  -  47 

L.  H.  CRALL  -  48 

COLONEL  THOMAS  H.  KEEFE      -  -  49 

J.  HARRY  BALLARD    -  -  50 

ROBERT  P.  PORTER     -  51 

ELWYN  A.  BARRON     -  52 

WILLIAM  E.  CURTIS    -  -  54 

MELVILLE  E.  STONE  -  -  55 

BYRON  ANDREWS  -  55 

C.  C.  ADAMS  -  56 

WALTER  SCOTT   -  58 

WILLIAM  KENNEDY    -  58 

U.  S.  SENATOR  HANSBROUGH      -  -  59 

->w       FRANK  W.  PALMER     -  -  59 

^^  JAMES  G.  GIBBS  -  60 

L.  WHITE  BUSBEY  60 

GEORGE  E.  PLUMBE  -  -  60 

JOSEPH  L.  STICKNEY  -  -  61 
9 


Miss  MINNA  SMITH    -  61 

H.  H.  KOHLSAAT  -                              62 

JOHN  HALLORAN  -       -       -       -       -62 

GEORGE  R.  HAYMAN  -  -      62 

THOMAS  O'NEILL       -  -                -      62 

EDWARD  FREIBERGER-  -      63 

WILLIAM  EMMETT  DENNIS  -                                      63 

HORATIO  P.  MCKEOWN 63 


ADDRESSES 


ADDRESS  BY  THE  PRESIDENT, 
GEORGE  B.  ARMSTRONG 

My  Old  Friends  and  Associates: 

It  was  a  happy  thought  that  suggested  to  a  few  of  the  old 
Inter  Ocean  boys,  who  had  met  casually  and  were  talking 
over  youthful  days,  the  organization  of  a  club  to  renew  the 
memories  of  the  good  old  times  that  are  gone,  and  to  freshen 
in  our  mature  years  the  recollections  of  a  delightful  epoch 
in  our  lives. 

It  was  an  equally  happy  inspiration  that  moved  the  club 
to  give  to  our  honored  chief,  William  Penn  Nixon,  this  testi- 
monial banquet,  not  only  as  the  outward  and  visible  sign 
that  we  reverence  him  as  the  years  muster  about  his  head, 
but  that  not  one  has  forgotten  the  courtesy,  the  consideration, 
and  the  anxiety  that  guided  him  in  all  of  his  relations  with  us. 

William  Penn  Nixon  has  kept  this  delightful  feeling  alive 
in  us  all.  He  has  done  this  because  his  personality  is  one  to 
preserve  the  revivifying  sensation,  and  his  simple  and  sturdy 
character  gives  it  strength  to  flourish  in  spite  of  the  hard 
environments  of  our  modern  life.  As  I  look  back  to  the  old 
days,  as  I  take  a  mental  retrospect  of  the  time  when  we  were 
all  so  earnestly  aiding  to  build  up  a  great  newspaper,  that 
one  figure,  the  figure  of  William  Penn  Nixon,  looms  before 
me,  radiant,  I  may  say,  with  all  the  traits  that  mark  noble 
manhood.  There  is  no  exaggeration  in  these  terms,  my 
friends,  nothing  that  is  not  a  healthy  and  a  robust  sentiment. 
For  we  all  know  what  a  pure  man  William  Penn  Nixon  always 
has  been.  None  of  us  can  remember  hearing  from  him  an 
expression  that  a  refined  Christian  gentleman  would  not  use. 

13 


No  unclean  word,  no  profanity,  ever  sullied  his  speech.  His 
self  control  was  perfect.  It  was  marvelous:  the  more  so 
when  we  stop  to  think  of  the  heavy  burdens  that  for  so  long  a 
time  he  had  to  carry.  In  the  incomings  and  the  outgoings  of 
his  daily  contact  with  us  he  was  a  model  for  each  one  of  his 
subordinates;  and  in  the  many  years  since  the  good  old  days 
when  he  was  literally  the  axis  upon  which  we  all  revolved,  he 
has  by  his  irreproachable  career  continued  to  be  a  model 
worthy  of  emulation. 

His  loyalty  to  his  employes  was  another  grand  feature  of 
his  character.  We  felt  safe  in  the  discharge  of  our  duties. 
We  knew  that  so  long  as  we  fulfilled  the  trusts  imposed  upon 
us  to  the  best  of  our  ability  we  would  be  protected  in  a 
way  to  develop  further  devotion  on  our  part.  This  loyalty 
buoyed  us  and  stimulated  us  in  our  desire  to  make  an  influen- 
tial newspaper,  and  opened  our  eyes  to  ideals  that  have  aided 
us  in  our  maturer  efforts.  It  was  such  traits  that  warmed  into 
life  the  germs  of  manliness,  because  the  healthy  youthful  mind 
is  ever  impressed  with  the  nobler  characteristics  shown  by 
those  who  lead  and  direct  us.  Unconsciously,  therefore,  Mr. 
Nixon  was  our  teacher.  How  many  of  us  who  were  associated 
with  him  have  not  been  impelled,  if  not  shaped,  in  some  of  the 
phases  of  life  by  those  mental  and  moral  forces  that  made  him 
the  man  to  be  honored,  and  trusted,  and  admired  by  the  citizens 
of  this  great  city. 

The  language  of  sincere  admiration,  my  dear  Mr.  Nixon, 
based  on  the  personal  knowledge  and  faith  following  years  of 
close  association  in  the  springtime  of  life,  when  the  faculties 
are  alert  and  eager;  and  the  ever-increasing  respect  of  a  fuller 
belief  when  the  autumn  of  life  comes,  never  is  adulation.  It 
is  the  phraseology  of  an  honest  and  enduring  and  sympathetic 
friendship,  firmly  based  on  the  tender  and  mellowing  recollec- 
tions of  the  past,  the  more  charming  because  the  fruitage  is  so 
natural.  Purity,  modesty,  earnestness,  high  ideals,  sincerity, 

14 


loyalty,  consistency,  honesty  of  purpose,  an  unimpeachable 
and  inflexible  integrity — these  verbal  strokes,  drawn  with  a  free 
hand,  present  the  man  in  outline.  The  filling,  in  detail,  makes 
the  individuality  the  more  attractive  and  symmetrical. 

To  us  all  Mr.  Nixon  was  as  a  father.  That  is  the  one  word 
that  best  defines  the  relations  then  existing  between  him  and 
his  "boys."  And  I  am  sure  that  the  memory  of  that  parental 
solicitude  abides  with  us  all  even  to-day.  We  were  his  "boys  " 
in  fact  as  well  as  in  name.  We  were  attached  to  him,  not 
as  an  employer  who  desired  to  squeeze  out  of  us  every  drop  of 
our  energy  and  every  bit  of  our  physical  vitality,  but  a  kindly, 
forebearing,  generous  soul,  who  encouraged  us  and  led  us  by 
a  firm  yet  gentle  hand,  and  with  a  cherishing  spirit,  to  under- 
stand what  was  due  to  him  as  an  employer,  and  to  the  news- 
paper that  he  raised  to  so  high  and  so  large  a  place  in  American 
journalism.  Can  any  one  say  that  William  Penn  Nixon  ever 
asked  any  more  than  he  was  willing  to  give  ?  Let  each  one  of 
you  put  to  himself  the  question.  There  is  not  the  shadow  of  a 
doubt  in  my  mind  what  the  answer  will  be.  In  the  health 
and  in  the  sickness  of  his  employees  he  was  more  than  the 
watchful  employer;  he  was  the  affectionate  friend,  the  gentle 
father. 

To  Mr.  Nixon  the  journalism  of  this  great  nation  owes 
much.  It  owes  a  greater  obligation  than  ever  has  been  ex- 
pressed. The  obligation  may  be  conceded,  but  those  who,  after 
many  years  of  exhausting  and  never-ceasing  toil,  have  reached 
the  heights  of  human  effort,  are  hungry  for  recognition.  Some- 
times that  recognition  comes  in  a  gratifying  form  and  degree. 
Sometimes  it  is  withheld  from  the  successful  toiler  whose 
achievements  help  to  make  and  shape  history.  Fortunately, 
Mr.  Nixon  has  been  recognized  as  the  last  survivor  of  the  great 
sextette  of  editors  that  made  Chicago  newspapers  famous  the 
world  over.  He  has  been  praised  as  the  last  of  the  great  editors 
of  this  part  of  the  country  whose  perspicacity,  ability,  trenchant 


pens,  energy,  and  integrity,  in  professional  as  well  as  private 
life,  commanded  public  confidence  as  well  as  public  respect. 
He  is  the  last  one  living  of  the  great  Chicago  editors, — Joseph 
Medill,  Wilbur  F.  Storey,  Hermann  Raster,  Andrew  Shuman, 
James  W.  Sheehan, — men  who  were  potent  factors  in  shaping 
the  destiny  of  Western  civilization.  When  the  history  of  the 
journalism  of  the  United  States  shall  be  written,  no  editor  will 
be  accorded  a  more  spacious  place  than  William  Penn  Nixon, 
and  in  the  history  of  Western  journalism  his  will  be  one  of  the 
supreme  positions.  And  why?  Because  the  great  daily  that 
he  built  up  was  merely  the  reflex  of  the  man  whose  fundamentals 
were  truth,  sincerity,  gentleness,  and  honesty  combined  with 
an  indomitable  ambition.  His  conscience  was  as  responsive 
to  the  immutable  principles  of  right  and  wrong,  to  the  meum 
and  the  tuum  of  commonplace  existence  as  the  sensitive  plant  is 
responsive  to  the  blast  of  the  rude  and  chilling  wind.  He  con- 
ducted his  newspaper  on  the  lines  of  absolute  fairness.  No 
man  was  ever  deliberately  wronged  by  Mr.  Nixon.  No  man 
with  a  grievance  was  ever  turned  away  from  him  without 
satisfaction.  No  man  with  a  just  claim  to  redress  was  ever 
disappointed  when  such  redress  was  asked.  William  Penn 
Nixon's  traits  were  mirrored  in  his  paper.  That  one  fact  made 
The  Inter  Ocean  a  power  in  the  land. 

This  is  the  man — only  the  briefest  outline  of  his  upright 
and  amiable  personality — whom  we  honor  here  this  evening. 
In  honoring  him  we  honor  ourselves,  for  the  appreciation  of  high 
phases  of  manhood  bespeaks  the  generous  and  discerning 
nature.  It  is  pleasant  to  immerse  ourselves  in  the  memories 
of  the  past,  and  to  be  stimulated  with  those  exhilarating  remem- 
brances of  our  boyhood  days,  when  every  object  is  tinged  with 
a  golden  hue.  The  golden  hue  is  too  often  transmuted  into 
lead  as  we  progress  along  life's  pathway.  The  body  becomes 
jaded,  the  energies  are  consumed,  the  ambition  recedes,  the 
mind  loses  its  sprightliness  and  its  cheerfulness.  The  best 

16 


that  we  have  left  us  is  the  joyous  recollections  of  youth,  when 
work  was  a  pleasure  and  hope  suffused  every  task  with  a  ruddy 
tint.  We  turn  to  these  memories  as  the  weary  man  longs  for 
rest.  Happy  then  is  he  who  has  such  blithesome  memories 
as  we  have  to  regale  him;  so  many  grateful  and  animating 
associations  to  dwell  upon.  Thrice  happy  is  he  who  can  call 
to  mind  an  employer  so  helpful,  so  generous,  so  elevated  in 
mental  and  moral  excellences  as  our  tenderly  regarded  chief, 
William  Penn  Nixon.  We  to-night  are  like  a  family  of  grown 
sons  sitting  with  their  revered  father,  who  in  the  gathering 
years  of  his  life,  has  lost  none  of  the  compassion,  none  of  the 
interest  that  he  displayed  for  each  one  of  us  when  we  were 
enthusiastic  workers  under  his  care,  and  full  of  the  refulgence 
of  impetuous  youth. 

My  sincerest  wish — and  I  am  sure  that  it  is  the  wish  of  you 
all — is  that  this  reciprocal  and  cordial  affection  may  endure  in 
its  present  warmth,  binding  us  together  like  a  family  so  long 
as  there  is  life  in  the  old  Inter  Ocean  boys,  and  crystallizing  in 
the  richly  merited  sentiment:  May  God  bless  and  protect  our 
honored  chief. 


RESOLUTIONS  OF  AFFECTION 

At  the  close  of  Mr.  Armstrong's  address  he  read  the  following 
resolutions,  which  were  unanimously  adopted. 

In  the  recollections  of  the  members  of  the  Old  Inter  Ocean 
Boys'  Club,  our  honored  chief,  William  Penn  Nixon,  is  held 
in  the  tenderest  regard.  We  remember  him  as  a  generous,  a 
sympathetic,  a  helpful,  and  a  considerate  employer;  one  ever 
ready  to  lead  us  with  firm  and  gentle  hand  into  the  higher 
paths  of  life,  and  to  aid  us  in  establishing  those  ideal  standards 
of  work  and  living  of  which  he  was  in  so  large  and  so  full  a 
sense  the  worthy  exemplar.  His  name  will  ever  be  fresh  in  our 
minds  as  that  of  a  model  Christian  gentleman,  who  in  every 
word  and  deed  reflected  the  pure,  the  compassionate,  and  the 
elevating  spirit,  whose  irreproachable  life  was  molded  on  broad, 
liberal,  and  charitable  lines,  and  whose  every  effort  was  in 
the  direction  of  the  betterment  of  the  life  around  him. 

We  remember  William  Penn  Nixon  more  as  a  kindly  and 
considerate  father  than  as  an  employer.  His  deep  interest 
in  the  old  Inter  Ocean  boys,  who  aided  him  in  the  building  of  a 
great  newspaper,  can  never  be  forgotten  in  our  maturer  years. 
To  us  all  it  has  been  and  now  is  the  source  of  sincere  gratitude. 
Therefore  be  it 

Resolved,  That  the  members  of  the  Old  Inter  Ocean  Boys' 
Club  express  to  our  revered  chief,  William  Penn  Nixon,  an 
earnest  solicitude  for  his  health  of  body,  and  repose  of  mind, 
wishing  him  all  the  prosperity  and  genial  surroundings  that 
bring  comfort; 

Resolved,  That  these  resolutions  be  adopted  as  a  token  of 
the  affectionate  esteem  that  animates  us  as  individuals  as  well 
as  a  Club,  and  that  leads  us  all  to  hope  that  life's  choicest 
blessings  may  be  showered  upon  him. 

19 


TOASTMASTER  WM.  H.  BUSBEY'S  ADDRESS 

Mr.  President  and  Comrades:  I  have  been  sitting  at  the 
council  table  of  the  Inter  Ocean  for  a  good  many  years.  There- 
fore I  feel  very  much  at  home  here  in  this  circle  of  old  Inter 
Ocean  boys.  I  came  to  The  Inter  Ocean  from  the  Tribune  in 
April,  1876.  On  the  Tribune  I  had  been  engaged  in  work 
which  Mr.  Medill  regarded  of  importance,  and  in  which  he 
took  the  keenest  personal  interest.  When  I  learned  through 
William  Henry  Smith  that  a  position  of  considerable  promise 
on  The  Inter  Ocean  was  soon  to  be  vacant,  I  called  on  Mr. 
Nixon.  I  have  good  reason  to  remember  the  cordiality  of  my 
reception.  Mr.  Nixon  said  frankly  that  the  position  was  open, 
but  in  outlining  the  work  made  it  clear  that  I  would  be  expected 
to  do  the  same  work  on  The  Inter  Ocean  that  I  had  been  doing 
on  the  Tribune. 

This  seemed  to  me  like  changing  flags  too  suddenly,  and  I 
was  troubled  by  the  thought  that  Mr.  Medill  might  regard 
the  transfer  as  a  sign  of  eagerness  on  my  part  to  assist  a  rival. 
Mr.  Nixon  divining  what  was  in  my  mind,  I  explained  fully. 
He  said  that  he  appreciated  my  feeling  in  the  matter,  and 
advised  me  to  state  the  case  unreservedly  to  Mr.  Medill.  I 
did  so,  quoting  what  Mr.  Nixon  had  said.  To  this  Mr.  Medill 
replied:  "I  like  that.  Nixon  is  a  good  fellow  and  a  good  news- 
paper man.  I  offered  him  a  good  deal  more  money  than  he  is 
making  now  to  come  over  here,  but  he  preferred  hard  work  on 
a  new  paper  to  comfort  on  a  well-established  one.  You  tell 
Nixon  it  is  all  right;  but  that  I  will  expect  you  to  help  me  out 
occasionally."  All  of  which  I  did,  by  consent  of  Mr.  Nixon, 
my  double  duties  contributing  to  a  better  understanding  be- 


tween  the  two  editors,  and,  I  believe,  winning  for  myself  one 
of  the  finest  friendships  of  my  life. 

I  soon  became  much  attached  to  The  Inter  Ocean.  Wher- 
ever I  went  I  found  it  had  won  the  loyalty  and  excited  the 
enthusiasm  of  Republicans,  and  had  won  the  respect  of  Demo- 
crats. This  was  true  in  Iowa  as  well  as  in  Illinois,  and  I 
found  as  the  years  went  by  that  even  in  the  South  I  met  a 
hearty  welcome,  because  the  Southerners  regarded  Mr.  Nixon 
as  a  hard  hitter  and  a  fair  fighter.  Everywhere  I  went  I  found 
that  the  character  of  The  Inter  Ocean  and  the  personality  of 
Mr.  Nixon  assured  me  of  the  friendship  of  all  Republicans 
and  considerate  treatment  from  all  Democrats.  That  others 
employed  on  the  paper  had  a  similar  experience  is  shown  in 
the  letters  received  from  old  Inter  Ocean  boys  scattered  over 
the  world.  These  reminiscences  and  testimonials  of  regard  are 
all  tributes  to  the  worth  and  wisdom  of  the  man  who  made  The 
Inter  Ocean  the  great  Republican  newspaper  of  the  North-west. 

I  cannot  add  to  the  eloquent  tribute  paid  Mr.  Nixon  by  our 
president,  but  as  he  spoke  there  came  to  me  scores  and  hun- 
dreds of  incidents,  plain  matters  of  fact,  tangible  things  which 
illustrate  traits  of  Mr.  Nixon's  character  and  qualities  of  his 
heart  and  mind,  and  which  speak  louder  even  than  the  most 
eloquent  words.  When  I  think  of  his  tenacity  of  purpose  and 
his  devotion  to  principle  I  remember  that  Grant  said  to  me  at 
the  great  Warren  meeting  in  1880,  when  I  was  presented  to 
him  as  the  representative  of  The  Inter  Ocean:  "Mr.  Nixon  is 
as  loyal  a  friend  as  a  public  man  ever  had,  and  his  paper  is  a 
bulwark  of  Republicanism." 

I  remember  that  John  A.  Logan  said  after  the  campaign  of 
1884:  "If  I  were  to  be  a  candidate  for  President  I  would 
rather  have  the  support  of  The  Inter  Ocean  than  any  other  . 
three  papers  in  the  United  States."  I  recall  the  midnight  visit 
of  A.  M.  Jones  to  The  Inter  Ocean  office,  the  night  before  the 
election  in  1884,  when  he  said  to  Mr.  Nixon:  "You  were 

22 


against  Senator  Logan  in  the  convention,  but  he  wants  me  to 
say  that  you  have  done  more  for  the  ticket  than  any  other 
newspaper  in  the  West,  and,  no  matter  what  the  outcome, 
he  wants  me  to  express  his  appreciation  of  your  great  campaign 
for  the  party." 

I  can  never  forget  that  Conkling  joined  Garfield  at  Mentor 
in  praise  of  Mr.  Nixon's  courage,  fairness,  and  tact,  and  that 
Elaine  complimented  him  for  the  fight  he  made  for  Garfield 
ic  1880  and  for  Elaine  himself  in  1884. 

I  remember  that  when  the  Chicago  newspaper  men  were 
presented  to  General  Beauregard  at  New  Orleans,  his  eye 
lighted  at  the  name  Inter  Ocean,  and  he  said:  "If  our  people 
fought  for  our  policy  as  your  editor  fights  for  his,  we  would 
win.  We  like  a  fighter." 

And  there  were  hundreds  of  Democrats  in  Chicago  to 
speak  in  the  same  spirit. 

If  I  think  of  Mr.  Nixon's  relations  to  those  who  served 
under  him,  there  comes  before  me  a  long  line  of  printers, 
ordered  out  on  a  strike,  each  one  stopping  to  shake  hands 
with  him;  I  see  the  editorial  corps  and  city  staff  waiting  at 
the  crisis,  like  children  hovering  about  a  sick-room,  to  learn  if 
"the  old  man"  is  coming  down  on  his  feet  and  swinging  their 
hats  over  a  favorable  turn  in  affairs;  I  see  Mr.  Nixon  as  the 
adviser  of  those  in  trouble,  the  comforter  of  the  sick,  as  well  as 
the  organizer  of  a  great  newspaper;  I  remember  that  he 
printed  the  first  special  cable  dispatch  ever  published  in  a 
Chicago  newspaper,  that  he  was  the  first  publisher  in  the  West 
to  use  illustrations  in  a  daily  newspaper,  that  he  established  a 
high  literary  standard  for  daily  newspapers,  and  that  his 
policy  was  always  American  and  always  Republican. 

Remembering  his  long  service,  his  years  of  hard  work,  his 
devotion  to  principle,  his  kindly  interest  in  those  who  worked 
with  him,  his  affection  for  myself,  I  count  it  a  privilege  and 
an  honor  to  introduce  William  Penn  Nixon. 

23 


RESPONSE  BY  MR.  NIXON 

Mr.  Toastmaster  and  Members  of  the  Old  Inter  Ocean  Boys' 
Club: 

I  need  hardly  say  that  I  am  delighted  to  meet  you  at  your 
first  official  function.  I  anticipated  a  warm  greeting,  but  you 
have  gone  so  far  beyond  my  expectations,  that  my  heart  is  in 
my  mouth  and  words  fail  me.  Whatever  I  may  have  thought 
of  saying  to  you  is  gone,  lost  in  the  tempest  of  memories  and 
emotions  which  your  exuberant  words  of  affection  and  com- 
pliment have  awakened.  You  can  hardly  know  how  highly  I 
appreciate  your  kind  and  flattering  words.  They  mean  more 
to  me,  coining  from  you,  than  from  any  other  body  of  men  in 
the  world.  You  have  no  cause  for  dissembling  nor  for  con- 
ciliation on  account  of  things  to  come.  It  is  of  the  past  which 
we  all  know  that  we  think  and  talk  of  to-night,  and  we  cannot 
afford  to  be  anything  but  honest  with  ourselves. 

The  association  of  the  Inter  Ocean  staff  was  a  close  one,  and 
we  each  had  opportunity  of  knowing  each  other,  that  is  rare 
outside  of  the  family  circle.  I  understand  that  this  Club  is 
organized  to  keep  alive  the  memories  and  friendships  of  those 
earlier  days,  and  I  am  glad  that  it  is  here,  and  trust  that  it  will 
long  remain  to  brighten  our  lives. 

The  Inter  Ocean  staff  was  peculiar  in  its  intense  loyalty, 
both  to  its  chief,  and  to  the  paper  itself.  Every  man  desired  to 
aid  in  building  up  the  paper.  It  was  not  each  one  striving  for 
himself,  but  each  one  rivaling  his  fellows  in  effort  to  bring  the 
paper  to  the  front.  It  was  this  spirit,  inspiring  the  whole  staff, 
that  pushed  The  Inter  Ocean  to  the  front  rank  of  journalism, 
in  spite  of  sharp  competition  and  many  serious  difficulties. 

25 


Some  of  you  will  remember  when  in  1875  the  paper  was  sold 
under  a  mortgage  given  in  the  midst  of  troubles  in  1873.  My- 
self and  friends  bought  it  in,  and  not  a  member  of  the  staff 
deserted  me.  They  all  believed  in  its  ultimate  success,  and 
were  ready  to  aid  in  securing  it.  At  another  time  it  was  neces- 
sary, because  of  financial  troubles,  to  make  considerable  re- 
duction in  salaries,  but  not  a  man  threw  up  his  commission.  I 
am  pleased  to  remember  that  that  reduction  did  not  last  long. 
The  periodical  "shake-ups"  that  were  reported  to  occur  in 
some  of  our  contemporaries  never  occurred  in  The  Inter  Ocean. 
The  Inter  Ocean  came  into  existence  at  an  important  era  in 
the  history  of  Chicago,  March,  1872.  The  ashes  of  the  dis- 
astrous fire  of  the  previous  October  were  yet  hot  when  the 
first  number  of  the  Inter  Ocean  was  issued  from  a  building 
that  stood  on  the  lot  now  occupied  by  the  great  Auditorium. 
Mr.  J.  Y.  Scammon,  the  founder  of  the  paper,  was  an  intense 
Chicagoan.  He  had  abundant  faith  that  the  city  would  rise 
from  its  ashes,  greater  and  stronger  than  ever.  He  spent 
$1,000,000  in  rebuilding  property  destroyed  by  the  fire.  In 
his  enthusiasm  for  the  city,  he  was  advance  agent  of  the  Two 
Million  Club.  Looking  over  a  large  tract  of  land  that  he  had 
in  the  southern  part  of  the  city,  then  unimproved,  I  asked  him 
what  he  was  going  to  do  with  it,  as  it  seemed  to  me  a  very  un- 
promising investment.  Waving  his  hand  over  it  towards  the 
city,  he  replied,  ' '  Two  millions  of  inhabitants. ' '  The  expres- 
sion and  the  feeling  he  threw  into  it  impressed  me.  Years 
afterwards,  when  I  attended  his  funeral  at  the  same  place,  I 
found  the  land  I  then  thought  of  such  little  value  covered  with 
beautiful  residences,  and  I  remembered  his  prophecy.  At  its 
inception,  Mr.  Scammon  inspired  the  paper  with  this  Chicago 
spirit,  and  it  never  lost  it.  The  influence  of  The  Inter  Ocean 
in  building  up  the  city,  developing  its  parks,  boulevards,  and 
schools,  and  aiding  in  everything  for  its  betterment,  is  gener- 
ally acknowledged. 

26 


The  influence  of  The  Inter  Ocean,  too,  in  national  affairs 
was  something  to  be  remembered  with  pride.  This  was  the 
reconstruction  period,  and  the  South  was  in  a  great  turmoil. 
Klu-Klux  clans  and  carpetbagism  seemed  destined  to  overturn 
all  the  good  that  had  been  done,  not  only  by  the  war,  but  by  the 
peace  work  afterwards.  No  paper  took  a  braver  stand  or  did 
more  heroic  work  in  putting  down  the  Klu-Klux  clans  and  in 
defending  the  emancipated  negroes.  Its  work  in  this  regard 
gave  it  a  national  reputation.  No  paper  in  the  North  was 
better  known  in  the  South  than  The  Inter  Ocean,  but  in  our 
severity  of  condemnation  we  always  tried  to  treat  the  people  of 
the  South  with  fairness,  and  when  their  passions  had  passed 
away,  they  acknowledged  that  no  paper  was  fairer  to  the  people 
of  the  South  than  The  Inter  Ocean,  and  I  have  found  in  late 
years,  in  traveling  in  that  part  of  the  country,  that  my  connec- 
tion with  the  paper  was  a  good  introduction  among  the  best 
people  there. 

Protection  now  has  become  not  only  one  of  the  leading 
tenets  of  the  Republican  party,  but  an  established  policy  of  the 
nation,  but  in  the  early  days  of  the  Inter  Ocean  it  was  in  great 
jeopardy,  especially  in  the  Mississippi  Valley  and  the  North- 
west. The  Chicago  Tribune  and  the  Chicago  Times,  the  two 
most  ably  edited  papers  in  the  Northwest,  were  both  against 
protection.  A  tariff  for  revenue  only  and  tariff  reform  was 
their  cry,  and  the  whole  tendency  and  spirit  of  the  papers  were 
against  protection  of  American  industries.  Their  circulation 
was  very  large,  and  they  impressed  their  ideas  on  the  papers 
throughout  the  Northwest.  Many  of  the  Republican  press 
were  being  led  astray  by  them.  The  Pioneer-Press  of  St.  Paul* 
an  able  paper,  was,  in  the  matter  of  protection,  but  an  echo 
of  the  Chicago  Tribune,  and  the  Globe- Democrat  of  St. 
Louis  was  very  little  better.  Thoughtful  Republicans  were 
alarmed  at  the  situation.  The  Inter  Ocean  came  to  the  rescue, 
and  took  up  the  fight  in  a  systematic,  earnest  effort.  Arrange- 

27 


ments  were  made  by  which  the  daily  Inter  Ocean  was  sent  to 
almost  every  county  Republican  newspaper  in  the  Northwest. 
Great  effort  was  made  to  get  the  weekly  Inter  Ocean  into 
the  hands  of  all  the  farming  community,  and  that  edition  of 
the  paper  soon  reached  100,000  copies,  every  one  of  which 
went  into  the  homes  of  the  people.  We  spent  money  and 
gave  a  great  deal  of  attention  to  the  question  of  protection, 
and  it  was  not  many  years  before  the  tide  began  to  turn,  and 
long  before  the  election  of  1884  there  was  a  complete  revolu- 
tion of  sentiment,  and  the  Republican  press  of  the  Northwest 
was  almost  a  unit  for  protection,  and  in  this  way  the  whole 
Mississippi  Valley  was  prepared  for  the  coming  of  McKinley- 
ism  and  all  its  benefits.  You  all  ought  to  remember  this 
great  work  of  the  paper.  It  was  one  of  the  most  important 
works  ever  done  by  any  newspaper. 

But  you  know  all  these  things,  and  more,  for  time  would  fail 
me  to  tell  of  all  the  good  things  the  old  Inter  Ocean  and  its  boys 
are  responsible  for.  We  know  it  aided  in  putting  many  good 
men  in  office  and  in  keeping  some  bad  men  out.  While  it 
strongly  opposed  Democratic  politicians  and  Democratic 
policies,  it  never  denounced  any  man  because  of  his  politics- 
It  was  always  radically  Republican,  but  its  fairness  to  political 
opponents  secured  for  it  the  confidence  of  many  Democrats 
who  were  regular  readers  of  the  paper.  You  will  recollect 
they  used  to  say, ' '  We  like  you  because  we  always  know  where 
to  find  you." 

I  am  glad  to  say  that  the  grand  old  paper  around  which  these 
historic  memories  cluster  still  lives  and  prospers.  It  has 
withstood  the  stormy  years  and  still  presents  the  appearance 
of  an  athlete  eager  for  the  fray.  Long  may  it  live ! 

In  conclusion,  I  wish  long  life  and  happiness  to  this  Club  and 
its  members.  May  there  be  many  such  reunions  as  this,  keep- 
ing fresh  the  memories  of  days  well  spent  that  will  never  return. 

28 


ADDRESS  BY  A.  C.  THOMAS 

It  is  certainly  a  great  pleasure  to  me  to  be  one  of  the  many 
who  do  honor  to  William  Perm  Nixon  to-night.  Like  a  good 
many  other  people,  I  do  not  care  to  give  a  clew  to  my  age,  but 
I  claim  to  be  one  of  the  oldest  friends  of  Mr.  Nixon  at  this  board. 
I  have  known  him  longer,  perhaps,  than  any  one  else  present. 
I  knew  him  when  he  was  a  boy  in  Newport,  Wayne  County, 
Indiana.  He  is  of  old  Abolition  stock — an  ancestry  whose  acts 
were  guided  by  honor  and  principle.  His  father,  a  member 
of  the  "Old  Guard"  of  many  years  ago,  and  still  remembered 
as  director  of  the  "underground  railroad,  "  was  associated  with 
my  grandfather  in  the  work  of  looking  after  fugitive  slaves. 
And  that  is  how  I  happen  to  know  William  Penn  Nixon  so 
long.  He  was  reared  in  the  same  town  where  my  parents 
lived,  and  was  known  as  "Willie"  Nixon.  "Willie"  and 
"Ollie"  (I  presume  you  will  recognize  the  doctor,  now  called 
Oliver  W.)  were  sports  in  their  younger  days — great  marble 
players,  and  wasted  a  great  deal  of  time  in  trying  to  get  the 
alleys  and  taws  of  the  other  boys.  They  spent  so  much  time, 
indeed,  playing  marbles  that  some  of  the  old  Abolition  neigh- 
bors had  an  interview  with  their  father,  and  the  upshot  was 
that  Willie  and  Ollie  were  sent  to  a  college  where  they  were 
schoolmates  of  Ex-President  Benjamin  Harrison. 

As  I  have  known  him,  William  Penn  Nixon,  in  his  public 
as  well  as  his  private  life,  has  always  lived  up  to  the  principles 
of  his  forefathers — to  be  just  to  all  men,  to  work  at  all  times  for 
principle  rather  than  fortune.  He  has  always  been  a  true  friend 
to  those  who  know  him,  and  could  be  depended  upon  absolutely 
under  all  circumstances.  He  has  ever  had  at  heart  the  good 
of  his  city,  of  his  country,  and  of  the  newspaper  profession. 

29 


While  I  am  not  acquainted  with  The  Inter  Ocean's  cashier, 
I  have  been  a  member  of  its  staff  through  my  connection  with 
the  Associated  Press.  Since  the  spring  of  1874  I  have  done 
my  part  in  gathering  in  the  news  of  the  United  States  and  the 
world  for  The  Inter  Ocean;  so  I  claim  to  belong  to  the  "special" 
staff.  And  I  am  proud  of  this,  since  it  gives  me  the  opportunity 
to  join  with  the  members  of  the  regular  staff  to  show  apprecia- 
tion of  the  character  of  William  Penn  Nixon. 


B.  FRANK  HOWARD 

Mr.  B.  Frank  Howard,  long  time  commercial  and  financial 
editor  of  The  Inter  Ocean,  was  the  next  speaker,  and  recounted 
in  an  interesting  array  of  statistics  and  facts  the  growth  of 
Chicago  at  the  time  the  paper  passed  into  the  control  of  Mr. 
William  Penn  Nixon  up  to  a  recent  period.  He  traced  the 
marked  influence  The  Inter  Ocean  had  had  in  inspiring  confi- 
dence in  the  markets  of  Chicago  among  outside  shippers  who 
were  uncertain  as  to  the  ultimate  effect  of  the  great  fire  on 
the  commercial  position  of  the  city,  and  pointed  to  Mr.  Nixon 
as  the  one  inspiring  figure  in  the  upbuilding  and  perpetuating 
of  confidence  in  the  city's  future. 


POEM  BY  WM.   HUDSON  HARPER 

"  TO    WILLIAM   PENN  " 

The  hour  is  late,  the  closing  rush- word  set, 

The  wide  world's  message  girds  the  flying  wheel: 
The  living  pass.     My  word  must  now  be  said — 
Ho!  stop  the  press!    I'll  print  the  love  I  feel. 

I  stood  with  others  by  thy  side  of  yore — 

The  right  place  held  by  him  who  whitens  now — 

I  saw  no  triumph  fire  thee  with  base  glee, 
I  saw  defeat  ne'er  pale  thy  placid  brow. 

Steadfast  and  calm,  thy  course  held  by  the  stars, 
The  nation's  welfare  was  thy  constant  goal; 

Whene'er  thy  bugle  clarioned  to  the  West 
All  men  confessed  there  spoke  an  honest  soul. 

And  followed,  too,  to  bulwark  up  the  land, 
With  shop  and  mill  and  myriad-teeming  farm; 

Foremost  thy  presence  in  the  council  tent, 
Faithful  thy  vigil  lest  the  Republic  harm. 

As  votes  the  West  thy  teachings  yet  again, 
With  freighted  galleons  bearing  wealth  afar, 

All  men  applaud  the  vision  of  the  seer 

Who  hitched  his  wagon  unto  empire's  star. 

Around  thee  once  again  on  victory's  height 
The  Old  Boys  rally  to  uplift  thy  hands, 

To  pass  to  eager  youth  that  storm  the  steep 

Thy  newest  watchword  and  thy  fresh  commands. 
33 


But  we  that  know  thee  know  thy  newest  word, 
It  is  thy  life  in  patience  writ  for  men: 

No  change  it  suffers,  states  by  it  survive — 
Thy  word  is  "honor,"  sterling  William  Penn. 

The  hour  is  late,  let  speed  the  flying  roll — 
We've  held  the  press — it  may  not  be  again. 

But  speed  it  now  and  bear  our  cheer  afar: 

"All  hail  to  simple,  manly,  honest  William  Penn!" 


34 


REMARKS  BY  ALD.  W.  P.  DUNN 

Alderman  Dunn  briefly  referred  to  his  service  on  The  Inter 
Ocean  business  staff  during  the  old  days,  and  paid  a  handsome 
tribute  to  William  Penn  Nixon's  ability  as  a  journalist,  his 
work  in  the  rebuilding  of  the  city  after  the  great  fire  of  1871, 
and  his  uniform  courtesy  and  generous  and  sympathetic  treat- 
ment of  those  under  him.  Mr.  Dunn  declared  that  the  Repub- 
lican party  owed  Mr.  Nixon  a  debt  that  was  too  large  ever  to 
be  repaid.  For  many  years  he  was  a  great  and  a  virile  force 
in  the  politics  of  this  part  of  the  country. 


35 


REMARKS  BY  THOMAS  C.  MAC  MILLAN 

Men  are  brought  together  by  chance,  but  keep  together  by 
choice.  In  the  army,  soldiers  touch  elbows  with  soldiers,  and 
comradeship  becomes  very  close,  very  strong,  very  lasting.  In 
the  more  peaceful  pursuits,  these  elements  are,  alas!  too  often 
wanting.  When  they  do  exist,  however,  they  have  the  strength 
of  strong  natures,  the  endurance  of  strong  characters. 

In  our  relation  to  Mr.  Nixon  we  came  together  largely  by 
chance,  but  remained  together  by  selection.  In  the  circle  of 
which  he  was  the  center  the  companionship  was  as  that  of  a 
Table  Round,  where  help  found  large  place  and  hope  discov- 
ered ample  shelter;  and  these  two  went  hand  in  hand  like 
tried  travelers  along  the  way. 

The  goodly  company  is  scattered.  Seas  and  years  separate 
its  original  members.  God's  finger  has  touched  some,  and 
they  sleep.  But  the  dear  presence  we  so  much  miss,  we  shall 
meet  again.  Meanwhile,  we  honor  the  Chief  who  has  led — 
yea,  who  still  leads — the  band  of  "boys,"  who  will  always  be 
"boys"  till  "the  last  dear  companion  drops  smiling  away." 

And  to  our  Chief  may  I  say: 

"The  way  is  short,  O  friend, 

That  stretches  out  before  us; 
God's  tender  heavens  above  us  bend, 

His  sun  is  smiling  o'er  us; 
A  little  while  is  ours 

For  sorrow  or  for  laughter; 
I'll  lay  the  hand  you  love  in  yours 

On  the  shores  of  the  hereafter." 


37 


ADDRESS  BY  T.  O.  THOMPSON 

It  is  a  pleasure  and  an  honor  to  be  among  such  a  splendid 
representation  of  the  old  members  who  served  in  earlier  years 
on  the  old  Inter  Ocean  staff,  here  assembled  to-night  to  do 
honor  to  William  Penn  Nixon,  the  guiding  hand,  the  unflinch- 
ing supporter  of  the  paper  in  a  period  fraught  with  great  events 
and  burdened  with  most  serious  problems  as  to  the  future  of 
Chicago,  just  emerging  from  one  of  the  most  dire  calamities 
known  in  history — the  period  following  the  great  conflagration 
of  October  9,  1871.  The  men  attached  to  The  Inter  Ocean 
staff  were  few  at  the  start,  but  they  made  up  for  paucity  in 
numbers  by  being  a  highly  energetic,  and  ambitious  set, 
ready  at  all  points  to  carry  out  the  directing  wishes  of  the  head. 
It  was  to  the  brilliant  genius  that  thus  directed  their  energies 
that  I  ascribe  much  of  the  future  greatness  of  the  city.  It  is 
within  my  recollection  at  this  time  that  on  the  memorable  night 
of  that  mighty  holocaust  I  stood  upon  the  north  approach  to 
the  Clark  street  bridge  upon  a  large  lumber  pile,  which  was  to 
repair  the  bridge,  then  closed,  and  as  fellow-spectators  of  the 
flames  then  devouring  the  Sherman  house — having  already 
devastated  millions  of  dollars  worth  of  property  and  laid  to 
dust  miles  upon  miles  of  buildings  on  the  South  Side — there 
were  George  L.  Dunlap,  Perry  H.  Smith,  A.  H.  Burley,  and 
others,  viewing  the  fire  and  each  casting  up  rather  gloomy 
forebodings  for  the  future  of  Chicago.  One  declared  that  he 
believed  that  the  city  would  never  recover  its  former  prestige 
and  position;  another  remarked  that  it  would  take  twenty-five 
years  before  the  city  would  even  be  able  to  make  as  good  a 
showing  commercially  as  at  the  time  of  that  fire;  and  a  third 

39 


said  that  that  awful  calamity  virtually  ended  Chicago  as  a 
great  cosmopolitan  city. 

But  men's  judgments  are  not  infallible,  especially  when 
their  losses  have  been  great,  and  soon  the  master  work  done 
by  the  guiding  hand  of  The  Inter  Ocean,  along  with  one  or  two 
other  papers  at  that  period,  began  to  be  felt  both  at  home  and 
abroad.  Eastern  capitalists — for  the  fire  practically  wiped  out 
Chicago  capitalists,  in  the  strict  sense  of  the  term — began  to 
manifest  faith  in  the  recuperative  energies  of  Chicago's  brain 
and  brawn,  and  looked  with  admiration  and  high  commenda- 
tion upon  the  splendid  courage  shown  by  all  of  its  citizens,  as 
reflected  in  the  able  and  forceful  work  done  by  The  Inter  Ocean, 
along  with  other  forces  of  the  city,  which  appreciated  the 
gravity  of  the  situation  and  the  need  for  wise  and  judicious 
treatment  of  all  topics  bearing  on  Chicago's  wants  under  the 
peculiar  emergencies  of  the  time  and  looked  with  unswerving 
faith  to  its  future  capabilities.  Capital  gradually  turned 
hitherward,  and  Chicago  soon  loomed  up  as  a  magnificent 
spectacle  of  pluck  and  dash,  amidst  most  depressing  condi- 
tions, and  buildings  after  buildings  of  fine,  stately,  and  hand- 
some proportions  appeared,  far  outrivaling  former  ante-fire 
structures. 

In  the  midst  of  the  universal  song  of  the  hammer  and  saw, 
wherever  the  vivid  flames  had  made  themselves  manifest,  the 
members  of  the  old  Inter  Ocean  staff  proved  a  most  strenuous 
set  of  young  men — every  one  illumed  with  enthusiasm  for  his 
work  and  anxious  to  do  his  duty  to  the  utmost  extent.  I  may 
truthfully  say  that  the  pages  of  the  old  Inter  Ocean  of  those 
days  will  bear  ample  testimony  to  the  wisdom  displayed  by 
Mr.  Nixon, — the  guiding  hand  in  directing  the  destinies  of  the 
paper  and  in  helping  on  the  speedy  restoration  of  the  city. 
Those  were  certainly  trying  times,  and  had  it  not  been  for  the 
able  treatment  of  all  questions  touching  municipal  matters 
the  great  wealth  which  poured  into  the  city  would  never  have 

40 


been  forthcoming,  and  the  city's  rebuilding  might  have  been 
delayed  far  beyond  the  period  predicted  on  the  North  Clark 
street  bridge  approach,  but  as  it  turned  out,  through  the 
splendid  brain  and  executive  capacity  of  Mr.  Nixon,  confi- 
dence was  a  most  distinguishing  feature  of  the  old  Inter  Ocean 
in  all  its  utterances  of  that  day,  all  of  which  served  to  strengthen 
the  investment  of  Eastern  capital.  The  course  thus  pursued 
by  the  paper  naturally  served  to  assure  its  own  permanency 
and  popularity,  and  gave  the  falsehood  to  predictions  that  the 
venture  of  the  paper  into  the  newspaperdom  of  the  city  would 
prove  as  sinking  an  investment  as  the  old  Republican  had 
been.  But  brains  overcome  all  obstacles,  and  The  Inter  Ocean 
went  on  in  its  uninterrupted  course  of  prosperity  and  success. 
Chicago  thus  prospered  and  The  Inter  Ocean  prospered  with 
it  as  a  natural  consequence  of  its  loyal  support  of  the  city's 
rebuilding  and  faith  in  the  energy  and  honesty  of  its  people.  I 
remember  the  many  flattering  comments  made  upon  the 
ability,  energy,  and  enterprise  the  paper  displayed,  and  every- 
body commended  the  wisdom  of  the  Hon.  J.  Y.  Scammon,  the 
owner  of  the  journal,  for  his  selection  of  so  able  and  energetic 
a  man  as  Mr.  Nixon  as  the  first  manager  of  the  paper. 


LETTERS  FROM  THE  OLD  BOYS 


Dr.  Oliver  W.  Nixon 

It  is  with  deep  regret  that  I  am  unable  to  be  present  with 
you  in  person,  but  I  will  be  with  you  in  spirit  and  renew  the 
memories  of  a  quarter  of  a  century  of  days,  when  we  were  all 
younger  than  we  are  now. 

In  thinking  over  that  eventful  period  of  our  lives,  I  have 
often  doubted  whether  there  was  ever  a  more  loyal,  hard-work- 
ing body  of  men  held  together  so  long,  without  a  jar,  or  discord, 
one  that  had  more  reason  to  take  honest  pride  in  their  service. 
To-day,  I  never  meet  one  of  " the  old  boys "  (I  like  the  "old 
boys"  term)  from  the  composition  room  down  to  the  basement; 
that  I  do  not  want  to  take  him  by  the  hand.  They  were  never 
slow,  only  needed  being  instructed  in  their  lines  of  duty,  they 
ever  stood  pat,  and  were  always  for  the  honor  and  success  of 
The  Inter  Ocean. 

For  the  great  work  achieved  and  for  the  final  triumph  of 
principle,  for  the  earnestness  and  fidelity  to  the  public  and  in 
ever  looking  after  the  best  interest  of  his  co-workers,  none  can 
so  fully  appreciate  the  work  of  the  editor-in-chief  in  whose 
honor  you  have  met  as  can  the  young  "Old  Inter  Ocean  Boys' 
Club."  It  was  fortunate  that  he  had  such  a  staff  of  co-workers 
about  him,  loyal  and  true,  as  will  be  represented  at  your 
banquet. 

As  an  old  associate,  at  one  desk  for  twenty-four  years,  I 
trust  I  may  be  allowed  a  few  personal  references.  Year  after 
year,  in  the  same  room,  there  was  associated  with  me  William 
H.  Busbey  and  Frank  Gilbert.  Busbey  is  alive,  and  it 
rejoices  me  to  see  him  still  at  a  laboring  oar  in  the  old  Inter 
Ocean.  There  is  no  truer  man  living.  It  rejoices  me,  too,  to 
see  the  paper  standing  ably  and  manfully  battling  for  the 

45 


principles  that  have  made  it  a  power  for  good  in  the  land.  Let 
the  old  boys  always  stand  loyal  to  the  paper.  Frank  Gilbert 
was  among  the  manliest  of  manly  men;  strong  in  his  friendship, 
true  to  principle.  To  have  known  such  a  man  well  is  a 
treasure  in  memory  for  all  the  days  of  one's  life.  There 
were  four  others  with  whom  I  was  in  daily  contact,  whose 
kindness  and  thoughtfulness  especially  endeared  them  to  me. 
They  were,  W.  J.  Irvin,  T.  C.  MacMillan,  George  B.  Arm- 
strong, and  J.  Harry  Ballard. 

There  were  three  other  men,  not  enrolled  upon  The  Inter 
Ocean  staff,  but  in  every  way  worthy  of  such  honor:  L.  H. 
Crall  of  New  York,  Warner  M.  Bateman  of  Cincinnati,  and 
W.  H.  Bradley,  of  Chicago.  Crall  is  still  living.  He  never 
failed,  year  after  year,  in  traveling  the  long  distance  from  New 
York,  to  be  present  at  the  directors'  meeting;  and  by  his 
counsel  and  other  invaluable  services,  was  a  tower  of  strength 
to  the  paper.  Bateman  and  Bradley  were  two  noble  men, 
long  since  gone  to  their  great  reward.  They  were  never  too 
busy  in  their  active  business  lives  to  help  hold  up  and  encourage 
the  workers  upon  The  Inter  Ocean. 

We  are  all  growing  old  together.  I  am  past  seventy-nine, 
but  don't  let  us  ever  age  in  spirit.  Keep  an  interest  in  all  that 
concerns  your  fellows,  until  "taps"  are  sounded.  Now  let 
us  drink  old  Joe  Jefferson's  toast:  "May  we  all  live  long  and 
prosper";  and  when  the  good  Father  above  says  "Time  is  up," 
may  we  so  have  lived  and  loved  and  labored  that  we  may  join 
Bryant  in  his  impressive  words: 

"Go  not,  like  the  quarry  slave  at  night, 
Scourged  to  his  dungeon,  but  sustained  and  soothed 
By  an  unfaltering  trust,  approach  thy  grave 
Like  one  that  wraps  the  drapery  of  his  couch 
About  him,  and  lies  down  to  pleasant  dreams." 

Btioxi,  Miss. 


46 


Elijah  W.  Halford 

It  was  my  fortune  to  be  the  first  managing  editor  of  The 
Inter  Ocean,  getting  out  the  initial  number  of  the  paper,  thus 
having  to  do  with  the  very  beginning  of  things.  Conditions  were 
such  in  the  early  spring  of  1872  that  The  Inter  Ocean  imme- 
diately sprang  into  a  circulation  and  influence  that  demanded  a 
division  of  work  and  responsibility.  It  was  my  privilege  to 
recommend  to  Mr.  Scammon  the  name  of  Mr.  Nixon  for  busi- 
ness manager,  and  I  visited  Cincinnati,  and  had  a  personal 
conference  with  him,  which  resulted  in  his  coming  to  Chicago 
in  that  capacity,  he  finally  becoming  the  general  manager.  Mr. 
Nixon  had  the  tenacity  of  purpose,  the  quality  of  "  stick-to- 
ati  veness,  "  and  the  faculty  of  bringing  things  to  pass,  which 
made  the  permanence  of  The  Inter  Ocean,  and  especially  its 
constantly  appreciating  and  commanding  influence  throughout 
the  Northwest,  possible  and  certain. 

I  remained  with  the  paper  but  about  two  years,  personal 
and  family  reasons  causing  my  return  to  the  Indianapolis 
Journal,  upon  which  paper  I  began  and  closed  a  newspaper 
service  of  about  twenty-seven  years.  In  that  somewhat  long 
service,  no  years  were  more  pleasant  or  more  stimulating  than 
those  spent  with  Mr.  Nixon  and  our  associates  in  1872-74.  I 
have  always  counted  it  a  special  honor  to  have  presided  at  the 
birth  of  The  Inter  Ocean  into  the  newspaper  world,  and  to  have 
had  the  privilege  of  relation  with  gentlemen,  many  of  whom 
remain  my  personal  friends,  and  are  honored  citizens  of  the 
city  and  the  state  and  the  nation,  whose  best  interests  The  Inter 
Ocean  was  committed  to  in  its  beginning,  and  to  which  it  has 
given  and  continues  to  give  loyal  and  effective  support.  Chief 
among  these  is  Mr.  Nixon,  whose  intelligent  and  devoted  service 
and  sacrifice  to  and  for  The  Inter  Ocean  you  so  worthily  com- 
memorate. 

I  send  to  him  and  to  you  all  the  expression  of  my  sincere 

47 


regard  and  friendship,  with  best  wishes  for  a  future  that  must 
be  full  of  comfort  and  assurance,  growing  out  of  a  past  of 
unselfish  promotion  and  practice  of  the  highest  type  of  honor- 
able citizenship. 

Atlanta,  Ga. 

Leander  H.  Crall 

You  do  well  to  honor  Mr.  Nixon.  It  was  my  privilege  to 
be  associated  with  him  in  the  newspaper  field  in  Cincinnati 
prior  to  his  advent  into  Chicago  journalism.  At  that  time  a 
friendship  was  started  which  has  grown  and  deepened  with  the 
passing  years,  and  which,  please  God,  will  reach  beyond  the 
grave. 

Most  of  you  have  been  in  constant  touch  with  Mr.  Nixon, 
and  have  seen  him  daily  during  his  long  period  of  his  activity  in 
Chicago  journalism,  so  I  will  leave  it  to  others  to  speak  of  his 
distinguished  career  as  a  journalist;  but  none  of  you,  I  think, 
have  had  more  or  better  opportunities  to  know  the  man  himself 
during  his  career  of  public  usefulness,  his  many  years  of  service 
on  The  Inter  Ocean,  and  within  the  sacred  confines  of  his  family 
life  than  have  been  vouchsafed  to  me — so  my  word  will  be  only 
of  his  personal  qualities. 

For  more  than  thirty  years  our  relation  has  been  a  most 
close  and  confidential  one.  During  that  time  he  has  passed 
through  many  trying  periods,  many  severe  ordeals;  yet  he  was 
always  patient,  hopeful,  and  self-sacrificing.  He  never  attrib- 
uted to  his  fellowmen  a  thought  of  evil  intent  or  act,  but  always 
trusted  them  as  he  would  be  trusted  himself.  He  is  absolutely 
without  guile  and  incapable  of  doing  a  wrong  act.  His  whole 
life  has  been  an  exemplification  of  the  golden  rule.  While  he 
always  maintained  such  a  high  standard  of  ethics  in  his  business 
and  public  life  he  was  really  seen  at  his  best  in  his  own  home, 
the  atmosphere  of  which  was  pregnant  with  purity,  charity, 

48 


and  love.     No  one  could  step  within  its  threshold  without 
feeling  its  ennobling  influences. 

To  be  happily  married  is  the  greatest  boon  which  can  come 
to  man,  and  I  would  be  remiss  did  I  not  speak  of  her  who  has 
for  over  thirty-five  years  shared  all  the  joys  and  sorrows,  the 
ambitions,  disappointments,  and  successes  of  Mr.  Nixon's  life. 
She  has  proved  herself  a  worthy  helpmate.  Ever  an  inspiration 
and  an  encouragement,  ever  resourceful  and  ready  and  with  an 
abiding  devotion,  she  has  stood  by  his  side,  soothing,  com- 
forting, cherishing.  No  one  will  ever  know  what  Mrs.  Nixon 
has  been  to  the  one  you  will  honor.  God  bless  them  both! 

New  York. 

Thomas  H.  Keefe 

I  think  I  catch  the  spirit  of  the  "Old  Inter  Ocean  Boys' 
Club"  in  rallying  around  the  "grand  old  man"  of  The  Inter 
Ocean.  I  am  with  you  in  heart  and  soul.  I  am  with  you  be- 
cause, in  these  days,  when  an  insane  desire  for  material  gain  is 
leading  some  men  into  a  wild  dervish  dance  that  is  trampling 
higher  ideals  beneath  the  sordid  heel  of  greed,  it  becomes  a 
treat  to  meet  with  the  men  who  rallied  around  William  Penn 
,  Nixon  in  planting  The  Inter  Ocean  high  up  on  the  mountain  top 
of  truth,  manhood,  character,  individuality,  principle,  and 
patriotism.  The  gigantic  character  of  that  work  can  be  better 
appreciated  when  the  humble  condition  of  the  paper  is  consid- 
ered at  the  time  Mr.  Nixon  took  charge  of  it;  hence  Mr.  Nixon's 
work  in  The  Inter  Ocean  was  like  unto  that  of  the  brave  captain 
of  a  ship  who  turns  its  prow  towards  the  breakers  and  storm 
clouds  which,  regardless  of  personal  danger,  must  be  sur- 
mounted in  order  to  reach  higher  results.  For  those  reasons  I 
believe  Mr.  Nixon's  life's  work  on  The  Inter  Ocean  will  become 
a  model  for  future  journalism  when  the  press  will  realize  its 
full  mission;  namely,  that  of  a  second  sermon  on  the  mount; 

49 


then  the  press  will  be  the  pulpit,  the  rostrum,  the  guide  of  the 
future.  To  reach  this  high  altitude  of  journalism  the  men 
in  control  must  grasp  the  spirit  of  the  mission  of  the  Republic, 
and  conduct  the  press — that  most  wonderful  lever  for  molding 
better  conditions — with  the  same  self-sacrificing  spirit  that  the 
soldier  in  the  battle-field  fights  for  the  flag.  When  that  day 
comes,  as  come  it  will,  the  labors  of  Mr.  Nixon,  as  the  chief 
who  inspired  the  men  of  The  Inter  Ocean,  will  be  a  model  for 
the  highest  type  of  journalism.  Fellow  craftsmen,  you  do  well 
to  honor  the  man  who  has  achieved  those  great  results.  In 
honoring  Mr.  Nixon  you  erect  a  lasting  terrace  on  the  pathway 
of  life,  which  proclaims  to  future  generations  the  beautiful 
truth 

That  the  noblest  path  of  life 

Is  to  labor  for  our  fellow  man. 

Chicago. 

J.  Harry  Bollard 

So  at  last  I  have  arrived  at  the  dignity  of  an  "Old  Guard." 
Well,  I'm  proud  of  it.  The  original  Old  Guard,  if  memory 
serves,  died,  but  never  surrendered.  There  is  one  thing  the 
Old  Guard  that  is  to  banquet  November  22  will  never  sur- 
render, and  that  is,  not  alone  esteem,  but  affection  for  the  grand 
old  chief  under  whom  they  served,  William  Penn  Nixon. 

This  Old  Guard,  too,  seemingly  doesn't  die,  or  at  least  it 
has  been  smitten  lightly.  Men  of  the  Middle  West  thrive  as 
well  on  the  wave-swept  shores  of  Coney  Island  as  on  the  prairies 
of  Illinois  and  manage  to  subsist  about  the  same  on  the  hog 
and  hominy  of  the  farm  as  on  the  fodder  handed  out  in  the 
table  d'hote  belt  of  the  effete  East. 

I  had  supposed  that  I  could  write  columns  on  the  matter  of 
the  Nixon  dinner.  There's  the  trouble;  I  could.  Recollec- 
tions covering  a  period  of  twenty- two  years,  from  January,  1876, 

So 


to  December,  1897,  crowd  too  quickly.  But  the  reminiscent 
addresses  of  those  present  will  be  the  thing,  and  I  trust,  and 
feel,  that  they  will  be  as  pleasant  as  are  my  own  memories  of 
service  under  Mr.  Nixon. 

And  there  is  another  I  shall  ever  cherish,  and  that  is  Dr. 
O.  W.  Nixon,  whose  great  heart  and  simple  faith  I  learned  to 
know  on  the  occasion  of  many  fishing  trips. 

By  the  way,  I  hope  that  "  Old  Bill "  Kennedy  and  "  Johnny" 
Halloran  are  with  you.  If  there  is  such  a  thing  as  ultimate 
reward  for  day  in  and  day  out  loyalty — and  who  shall  doubt 
it? — those  two  good  fellows  will  get  halos. 

Now,  hail  and  farewell.  Late  on  Tuesday  night,  with  appro- 
priate surroundings,  albeit  alone,  I  will  clasp  hands,  softly 
hum  for  "Auld  Lang  Syne,  "  and  be  with  you  in  spirit.  May 
the  gods  be  good  to  you  all  is  my  wish. 

New  York. 

Robert  P.  Porter 

Will  you  apologize  to  Mr.  Nixon  for  my  bad  taste  in  being 
four  thousand  miles  away  on  this  important  occasion,  and  ex- 
press my  sincere  regret  that  my  ability  to  be  present  is  so  doubt- 
ful ?  No  man  was  more  sympathetic  and  helpful  in  the  early 
part  of  my  journalistic  career  than  Mr.  Nixon,  and  I  am  greatly 
indebted  to  him  for  all  he  did  for  me.  He  was  always  full  of 
encouragement  for  those  willing  and  anxious  to  get  along  in 
the  world.  I  have  letters  from  Mr.  Nixon  dated  over  thirty 
years  ago,  and  my  first  work  was  done  for  The  Inter  Ocean  in 

1873-74. 

I  became  a  regular  member  of  the  staff  in  1877,  after  my 
return  from  a  special  trip  taken  for  the  paper  to  write  up  the 
Pennsylvania  railway  strikes  of  that  year.  So  you  will  see  that 
I  am  one  of  the  oldest  of  the  Inter  Ocean  "Old  Boys."  I 
never  really  resigned,  nor  was  I  discharged,  but  was  granted  a 


six  months'  leave  of  absence  in  1880  to  take  up  some  statistical 
work  for  the  Tenth  Census,  and  although  I  have  frequently 
contributed  to  the  paper  since  then,  that  leave  of  absence  has 
been  extended  so  long  that  I  suppose  many  of  the  familiar 
faces  have  disappeared.  However,  those  of  us  who  are  left 
can  meet  once  in  a  while  both  in  reality,  as  you  are  meeting  in 
Chicago,  and  in  spirit,  as  I  join  you,  though,  in  the  words  of  the 
modern  critics,  I  am  "breathing  the  last  enchantments  of  the 
Middle  Ages  "  in  the  shades  of  these  old  colleges  in  Oxford. 

Will  you  wish  Mr.  Nixon,  for  me,  continued  good  health, 
prosperity,  long  life,  and  all  the  happiness  which  he  so  richly 
deserves.  In  this  wish  Mrs.  Porter  wishes  to  be  permitted  to 
join.  In  remembering  our  former  chief,  those  who,  like 
myself,  have  been  parted  so  many  years  from  the  old-time 
colleagues  who  will  assemble  at  the  banquet,  may  be  forgiven 
for  sending  an  additional  greeting  which  shall  include  you  all. 

London,  Eng. 

Elwyn  A.  Barron 

As  there  will  be  no  one  in  the  gathering  who  can  have  so 
much  personal  reason  as  I  to  cherish  a  grateful  affection  for 
the  rightly  named  "grand  old  man"  of  western  journalism, 
you  may  imagine  the  grief  and  disappointment  it  occasions  me 
to  know  that  it  is  too  late  for  me  to  be  represented  at  the 
banquet  even  by  an  inadequate  expression  of  my  feelings.  It 
would  have  been  a  keen  pleasure  to  me  to  participate.  I 
would  rather  sit  at  a  banquet  in  honor  of  William  Penn  Nixon 
than  of  any  other  man  on  earth,  for  reasons  that  I  believe  he 
well  understands  and  appreciates. 

There  is  nothing  in  my  experience  more  gratifying  to  my 
memory  than  the  fact  that  for  eighteen  years  I  was  one  of  The 
Inter  Ocean  "boys."  The  staff  in  the  days  of  my  connection 
with  it  was  something  unique  in  journalism.  Not  only  were 

52 


the  members  united  by  ties  of  the  closest  friendship,  but  each 
one  of  them  felt  that  he  had  a  direct  and  responsible  interest  in 
the  welfare  and  reputation  of  the  paper.  At  the  base  of  that 
feeling  of  firm  friendship  and  mutual  interest  was  the  love  and 
devotion  the  "boys"  felt  for  their  chief.  The  courtesy,  the 
kindness,  the  generous  sympathy,  and  the  fine  sense  of  fairness 
that  Mr.  Nixon  manifested  toward  the  boys — not  occasionally, 
but  invariably — won  from  them  a  respect  that  time  developed 
into  a  positive  affection.  The  fidelity  of  The  Inter  Ocean's 
staff  to  the  interests  of  the  paper  because  of  its  editor  in  chief 
was  as  a  proverb  in  local  journalistic  circles.  "The  Inter 
Ocean  family"  was  a  familiar  phrase.  It  was  at  first,  perhaps, 
a  phrase  of  half -mocking  admiration;  but  years  gave  it  a  proud 
and  valuable  significance  which  your  banquet  will  beautifully 
and  memorably  define.  There  is  no  successful  newspaper 
man — whatever  the  position  he  may  have  attained — who  would 
not  be  happy  to  be  like  William  Penn  Nixon,  the  complimentary 
guest  of  a  club  of  his  "old  boys"  that  was  organized  solely 
through  love  of  him.  I  know  of  no  otter  editor  who  can  boast 
of  such  a  felicitous  distinction.  I  know  of  none  so  situated 
that  it  is  probable  he  may  enjoy  a  similar  graceful  honor. 

Men  may  not  reveal  their  tenderest  sentiment  one  for 
another,  nor  confess  their  deepest  emotions.  A  grip  of  the  hand 
and  a  laconic  speech  are  usually  all  that  may  supplement  the 
testimony  of  their  eyes;  but  I  should  like  to  compress  twenty-six 
years  of  a  peculiarly  grateful  esteem  of  William  Penn  Nixon 
into  a  lingering  handclasp  with  him  on  Tuesday  night.  Being 
denied  that  gratification,  I  can  but  envy  more  fortunate  ones, 
and  send  him  an  unwritten  thought  that  I  would  have  him  take 
as  a  filial  greeting.  If  I  won  any  degree  of  success  in  the 
newspaper  field  I  owed  it  to  the  indulgence,  I  may  say  the 
sanction,  of  William  Penn  Nixon;  but  that  is  the  least  of  my 
indebtedness  to  him.  I  owe  him  the  memory  of  his  friendship 
at  times  when  a  man  less  generous  in  character,  less  splendid  in 

53 


simple  manhood,  would  have  remembered  only  that  he  was  an 
employer.     Long  life  and  increasing  happiness  to  a  good  man. 

New  York. 

William  E.  Curtis 

I  have  delayed  my  response  to  the  invitation,  hoping  that  I 
might  be  able  to  accept  it,  but  I  cannot  go,  much  to  my  regret 
and  disappointment.  Please  ask  the  boys  to  remember  me, 
as  I  shall  think  of  you  that  evening,  and  assure  Mr.  Nixon 
of  my  esteem  and  affection. 

When  I  first  saw  Mr.  Nixon,  he  was  watching  Irvin  count 
money  in  Jonathan  Young  Scammon's  stable,  which  stood 
about  where  the  Congress  Street  entrance  to  the  Auditorium 
Hotel  is  now  located.  It  was  one  Monday  morning  in  May, 
1872.  Mr.  Scammon,  being  desirous  of  assembling  the  greatest 
minds  of  the  universe  to  work  on  his  new  paper,  had  asked 
"Papa"  Gosche,  the  preceptor  and  at  that  time  the  business 
manager  of  Theodore  Thomas,  to  recommend  a  musical  critic, 
and  he  recommended  me.  By  mail  I  accepted  an  honorarium 
of  $50  a  week  and  went  to  Chicago.  Much  to  my  astonish- 
ment and  indignation,  when  Halford  introduced  me  to  Mr. 
Scammon,  I  was  informed  that  I  might  go  back  to  Toledo, 
because  he  wanted  a  man  instead  of  a  boy  to  do  that  work. 
After  a  somewhat  stormy  interview  on  Mr.  Scammon's  part,  and 
painful  humiliation  on  mine,  a  compromise  was  effected,  under 
which  I  was  allowed  to  remain  as  a  reporter  on  a  salary  of  $25 
a  week,  and  was  given  a  chance  to  try  my  hand  at  musical 
criticism  on  a  Lucca-Kellogg  opera  season  at  Aiken's  Theatre 
the  next  week. 

Occupying  the  table  next  to  mine  was  Melyille  E.  Stone,  a 
lad  of  good  abilities  and  energy  and  an  excellent  reporter.  I 
have  often  wondered  what  became  of  him.  Another  young 
man  who  impressed  me  by  his  aspirations  and  profound  learn- 

54 


ing  was  Thomas  C.  MacMillan,  the  best  police  reporter  we 
ever  had,  and  at  the  same  time  the  ablest  theologian.  He  was  a 
composite  of  Thomas  Chalmers  and  Sherlock  Holmes. 

It  is  a  long  time  since  then,  but  I  feel  as  young  as  I  did  then 
and  can  do  just  as  much  work.  I  am  sorry  I  cannot  stand  up 
with  you  when  the  roll  is  called  to-night,  but  it  seems  impossible 
for  me  to  make  the  journey.  I  will  be  there  in  spirit,  however, 
and  if  the  Old  Inter  Ocean  Boys'  Club  meets  regularly  here- 
after, I  shall  be  on  hand  next  time.  Meanwhile,  let  me  propose 
this  toast: 

That  Tune,  who  keeps  God's  promises, 

Will  bring  together  once  again 

Thee  and  me  and  all  of  us, 

For  old  friends  are  the  best. 

Washington,  D.  C. 

Melville  E.  Stone 

Nothing  would  give  me  greater  pleasure  than  to  participate 
in  the  banquet  and  to  testify  to  the  high  regard  I  have  always 
borne  William  Penn  Nixon,  but  unfortunately  engagements  in 
New  York  city  will  render  it  impossible. 

No  experience  in  my  life  has  given  me  greater  pleasure  and 
certainly  none  has  been  of  greater  profit  than  the  time  I  spent 
on  the  staff  of  The  Inter  Ocean  immediately  after  the  Chicago 
fire,  when  Mr.  Nixon  was  the  publisher  and  Major  Halford 
was  managing  editor.  It  is  a  memory  that  will  ever  remain 
green  and  gratifying. 

New  York. 

Byron  Andrews 

My  eight  years'  service  with  The  Inter  Ocean  staff  as  reporter, 
foreign  correspondent,  Washington  correspondent,  and  "de- 

55 


partment "  editor  is  the  greenest  spot  in  my  memory  of  my  pro- 
fession. 

Looking  backward  I  see  how  great  a  paper  we  made,  and 
how  many  remarkable  characteristics  it  developed  in  those 
early  days.  Faults  and  shortcomings  it  had,  because  it  but 
reflected  the  humanity  that  made  it. 

It  was  mighty  because  it  stood  fast  upon  moral  and  living 
principles,  so  it  recruited  a  patronage  that  clove  to  it  no  matter 
what  befell. 

It  saw  Chicago  grow  up  from  its  own  dust.  It  lived  through 
monetary  heresies,  financial  panics,  and  social  upheavals.  It 
has  stood  at  the  grave  of  a  score  of  contemporaries  where 
blasted  effort  lies  buried  in  the  cemetery  of  Chicago  news- 
papers. 

Surely  it  is  no  small  matter  in  one's  career  to  have  filled 
even  a  minor  place  in  the  building  of  such  a  monument  to  the 
genius,  earnest  purpose,  and  eager  effort  of  American  journal- 
ism. 

Please  present  my  hearty  congratulations  to  Mr.  Nixon 
and  all  who  may  be  with  you  at  the  banquet.  Nothing  could 
be  more  pleasant  to  me  than  to  be  there  and  look  about  on 
those  of  whom  I  could  say,  "These  are  the  men  I've  loved  and 
lost  awhile  and  found  again." 

Washington,  D.  C. 

Cyrus  C.  Adams 

You  have  my  heartiest  wishes  that  the  reunion  may  be  most 
enjoyable,  and  that  Mr.  Nixon  may  still  have  before  him  many 
long  and  pleasant  years. 

The  second  night  of  my  newspaper  life  I  was  picking  up 
personals  for  The  Inter  Ocean  at  the  Gardiner  House  when  I 
was  asked  to  make  way  for  George  William  Curtis  at  the 
register.  It  was  my  first  interview,  and  Mr.  Curtis'  bland 

56 


response  to  the  announcement  of  myself  as  an  Inter  Ocean 
reporter  nearly  took  me  off  my  feet. 

"Ah!"  he  said,  "I  see  you  and  I  belong  to  the  same  pro- 
fession." 

He  was  at  one  end  of  it  and  I  was  at  the  other,  which  observa- 
tion fairly  describes  the  newspaper  relations  of  Mr.  Nixon  and 
myself  when  I  was  a  member  of  his  staff;  but  I  never  saw  the 
day  when  he  was  too  absorbed  to  speak  a  friendly  word  to  the 
humblest  reporter,  or  evince  a  kindly  feeling  towards  any 
toiler  under  The  Inter  Ocean  roof.  This  has  always  been  one 
of  the  pleasant  memories  of  my  early  newspaper  days. 

Mr.  Nixon  has  doubtless  forgotten  the  fact,  but  it  was  he 
who  ushered  me  into  journalism.  Not  a  city  editor  in  Chicago 
would  look  at  me,  and  I  found  bread  and  butter  at  last  collect- 
ing subscriptions  under  the  City  Circulator  of  The  Inter  Ocean. 
When  Mr.  Nixon  changed  his  method  of  circulating  the  paper 
my  silver  apple  turned  to  ashes  and  I  went  to  him  with  my 
story  of  baffled  aspiration. 

"Well,  Adams,  "  he  said,  "I  have  seen  your  work,  and  in 
my  opinion  you  have  a  pair  of  very  excellent  legs.  We'll  have 
to  give  you  a  chance  as  a  reporter." 

It  is  thirty-one  years  since  Mr.  Nixon  gave  me  the  chance 
that  most  young  men  have  to  strive  for  as  I  did.  I  have  long 
been  out  of  the  routine,  but  if  I'm  anything  I  am  a  newspaper 
man  yet  in  feeling  and  in  work. 

Just  a  word  to  all  my  old  friends  around  your  table,  and  it 
comes  from  the  bottom  of  my  heart.  In  all  my  varied  experi- 
ences I  have  never  met  a  more  companionable,  finer  lot  of  fel- 
lows than  those  I  knew  when  we  were  boys  together  on  The 
Inter  Ocean;  and  I  can  only  express  my  deep  regret  that  I 
cannot  be  with  you  to  talk  over  the  good  old  times  and  to  pay 
in  person,  as  I  do  in  thought,  my  tribute  of  esteem  and  respect 
to  our  old  chief. 
New  York. 

57 


Walter  Scott 

I  received  your  invitation  to  the  banquet  in  honor  of  William 
Penn  Nixon  with  mingled  feelings  of  deepest  pleasure  and  sin- 
cere regret;  pleasure,  because  of  the  fond  recollections  his 
name  and  those  of  my  dear  former  associates  on  The  Inter  Ocean 
bring  up  before  me;  regret,  because  I  find  that  I  shall  be 
unable  to  be  among  you  on  that  auspicious  occasion.  I  will, 
indeed,  be  with  you  in  spirit,  and  would  much  prefer  to  be 
with  you  in  person  were  the  circumstances  such  that  I  could 
avail  myself  of  the  opportunity.  To  Mr.  Nixon,  let  my  name  be 
linked  with  those  who  hold  him  in  the  highest  esteem,  both  as 
employer  and  man. 

Plainfield,  N.  J. 

William  Kennedy 

Your  invitation  at  the  hands  of  the  "Old  Inter  Ocean  Boys' 
Club"  prompts  a  flow  from  memory's  wellspring  in  such  a 
flood  that  I  fear  to  trust  my  command  of  language  to  properly 
set  forth  my  feelings  for  the  one  in  whose  honor  you  meet  to- 
night. Our  vocabulary  is  none  too  generous  in  which  to  accord . 
William  Penn  Nixon  homage,  as  all  of  us  have  been  beneficiaries 
of  his  kindness  and  forebearance  while  being  strengthened  and 
sustained  by  the  patience  and  fortitude  with  which  he  endured 
our  many  shortcomings  while  undergoing  the  greatest  ordeal 
in  human  experience,  the  building  up  of  a  great  newspaper. 

This,  I  must  believe,  is  Mr.  Nixon's  imperishable  achieve- 
ment, and  in  my  judgment  it  will  become  still  more  prominent 
as  time  goes  on  and  a  survey  of  the  heroic  sacrifices  which  his 
indomitable  pluck  and  perseverance  accomplished  under  the 
most  difficult  of  circumstances. 

My  associations  with  Mr.  Nixon  began  when  The  Inter 
Ocean  was  but  a  few  days  old,  in  the  stable  where  it  was  born 

58 


and  baptized  on  Congress  street,  early  in  1872,  almost  a  gen- 
eration ago.  In  connection  with  the  paper's  history  I  have 
seen  a  grand  galaxy  of  newspaper  men  pass  before  my  vision, 
many  of  them  becoming  world-celebrated  in  their  chosen 
vocation,  while  the  institution  itself,  to  which  Mr.  Nixon  con- 
tributed so  much,  a  power  for  good  extending  beyond  the  con- 
fines of  the  nation  itself,  and  limited  only  by  the  bounds  of 
civilization  for  promoting  human  welfare.  This  is  indeed 
something  of  which  to  be  proud,  and  it  is  a  history  that  we  all 
can  cherish  as  fellow- workers  in  its  creation. 

In  testifying  to  our  deep  sense  of  the  esteem  we  have  for 
Mr.  Nixon,  we  but  reflect  honor  upon  ourselves,  and  those  of 
us  yet  lingering  in  the  field  of  activity  can  at  least  justify  our 
affection  for  the  man  whose  work  has  done  so  much  to  ennoble 
the  newspaper  profession,  and  one  who  has  performed  so  many 
conspicuous  acts  as  has  the  subject  of  our  assemblage  this 
evening. 

Chicago. 

United  States  Senator  Hansbrough 

I  regret  that  I  cannot  be  present  at  the  dinner  which  is  to 
be  given  in  honor  of  William  Penn  Nixon.  My  connection 
with  The  Inter  Ocean  was  of  very  brief  duration,  during  the  year 
of  1879,  but  I  have  always  felt  an  interest  in  the  welfare  of  the 
paper  and  of  those  connected  with  it,  especially  Mr.  Nixon. 

Washington,  D.  C. 

Frank  W.  Palmer 

I  regret  that  I  cannot  be  present  on  the  occasion  of  the 
William  Penn  Nixon  banquet  to  show  by  my  presence  my  sin- 
cere respect  for  our  old  co-worker  and  friend.  He  did  his  full 
share  in  making  The  Inter  Ocean  a  power  in  American  journal- 

59 


ism,  and  I  take  great  pleasure  in  uniting  with  his  other  asso- 
ciates in  paying  homage  to  his  merits. 

Washington,  D.  C. 


G.  Gibbs 

^  I  am  prevented  by  imperative  business  from  meeting  with  the 
/  "old  boys"  to-night.  I  never  regretted  anything  more  than  this 
enforced  absence.  Please  convey  my  affectionate  greetings 
to  our  honored  chief  William  Penn  Nixon,  the  grand  old  man 
of  Western  journalism,  and  to  the  dear  friends  of  my  youth,  the 
"old  boys"  of  The  Inter  Ocean. 

Nonvalk,  O. 

L.  White  Busbey 

Please  express  to  Mr.  Nixon  and  the  "Old  Inter  Ocean 
Boys"  my  sincere  regrets  over  not  being  able  to  be  with  you 
next  Tuesday  night.  I  can  think  of  nothing  that  would  come 
nearer  a  restorative  of  youth  than  such  a  gathering,  for  we  were 
all  boys  together  in  the  old  days  and  had  the  enthusiasm  and 
loyalty  of  boys  with  the  true  comradeship  of  youth. 

The  "old  boys"  are  now  scattered,  but  they  are,  I  am  sure, 
true  to  the  old  Inter  Ocean,  and  all  desire  to  see  it  continue 
its  distinguished  and  courageous  career,  standing  for  principles 
rather  than  men. 

I  regret  that  I  cannot  be  with  you  to  renew  the  old  associa- 
tions, and  in  doing  so  renew  my  own  youth. 

Washington,  D.  C. 

George  E.  Plumbe 

I  will  ask  you  to  extend  for  me  my  warmest  congratulations 
to  the  grayhaired  "boys"  who  will  have  the  pleasure  of  extend- 

60 


ing  to  William  Penn  Nixon  this  too  long  delayed  recognition  of 
his  uniform  kindness  to  and  appreciation  of  the  many  who  were 
so  fortunate  as  to  be,  for  a  longer  or  a  shorter  time,  under  his 
direction.  Few  men  who  filled  the  trying  position  occupied 
by  Mr.  Nixon  during  my  connection  with  the  paper,  down  to 
the  summer  of  1876,  could  have  endeared  themselves  to  their 
employees  so  positively  as  did  Mr.  Nixon.  Long  life  to  him 
and  all  the  "boys." 

Burlington,  la. 

Joseph  L.  Stickney 

The  first  work  I  ever  did  in  journalism  was  done  for  The 
Inter  Ocean  in  the  spring  of  1873,  and  I  shall  always  remember 
my  experience  on  its  staff  with  pleasure. 

I  have  never  seen  since,  and  I  never  expect  to  see  again,  in 
a  city  of  equal  size,  such  a  spirit  of  fraternal  goodfellowship  as 
existed  in  Chicago  while  the  ashes  of  the  great  fire — still  warm 
in  some  places — were  a  continual  reminder  of  the  stress  through 
which  all  the  residents  had  passed. 

I  have  the  most  kindly  memories  of  our  old  chief,  William 
Penn  Nixon,  to  whom  please  present  my  wishes  for  good  health 
and  long  life. 

New  York. 

Miss  Minna  Smith 

It  is  with  sincere  regret  that  I  must  write  that  I  cannot  be 
present  on  November  22,  at  the  dinner  to  Mr.  Nixon.  I  send 
my  warm  regards  to  him  and  to  all  the  confreres  of  the  old  days. 

New  York. 


61 


H.  H.  Kohlsaat 

I  regret  exceedingly  a  prior  engagement,  as  I  should  like 
to  join  in  any  occasion  in  Mr.  Nixon's  honor  and  to  meet  the 
"Old  Inter  Ocean  Boys."  May  you  all  "live  long  and  pros- 
per." 

Chicago. 

John   Halloran 

It  can  truly  be  said  that  in  his  dealings  with  his  subordinates, 
old  and  young,  William  Penn  Nixon  was  always  kind,  consid- 
erate, and  patient.  To  all  Chicagoans,  rich  or  poor,  he  was 
always  accessible.  And  last,  but  not  least,  the  editor  and 
controlling  spirit  of  the  old  Inter  Ocean  stands  to-day  as  he 
did  years  ago,  the  ideal  American  citizen  and  gentleman. 

Chicago. 

George  R.  Hayman 

I  greatly  regret  the  fact  that  unavoidable  circumstances 
prevent  my  participating.  Although  personally  absent  my 
feelings  will  be  with  you  in  doing  honor  to  the  "grand  old 
man,"  whose  ministrations  were  ever  courteous,  and  with  whom 
association  was  always  a  pleasure. 

Chicago. 

Thomas  O'Neill 

I  will  not  be  in  the  city  on  the  22d,  when  the  banquet  by 
The  Inter  Ocean  boys  is  to  be  tendered  to  Mr.  William  Penn 
Nixon.  But  before  I  go,  here  is  a  health  to  Mr.  Nixon,  the 
honest  man,  the  great  journalist,  the  polished  gentleman,  the 

62 


unprejudiced  American,  who  never  regarded  himself  better 
than  his  hired  man. 

Chicago. 

Edward  Freiberger 

I  certainly  regret  that  it  will  be  absolutely  impossible  for 
me  to  sit  at  the  festive  board  with  you  to-morrow  and  drink 
to  the  health  of  one  who  was  long  our  chief,  sometimes  our 
adviser,  and  always  our  friend.  Had  I  the  time  I  would  send 
you  a  book  of  reminiscences  and  tales  of  affection  for  one  who 
knew  how,  in  spite  of  many  clouds,  to  make  the  staff  of  a  great 
daily  paper  a  large  family  clothed  in  sunshine,  for  there  was 
never  before  or  since  a  newspaper  office  where  the  staff  was  so 
much  like  a  large  family  in  love  with  its  chief  editor.  Long 
life  to  William  Penn  Nixon. 

Chicago. 

William  Emmett  Dennis 

It  would  give  me  great  pleasure  to  be  with  you  and  do 
anything  in  my  power  for  Mr.  Nixon,  as  some  of  the  most 
pleasant  years  of  my  life  were  spent  on  The  Inter  Ocean  when 
Mr.  Nixon  was  its  manager.  I  often  think  of  them  and  think 
how  things  have  changed  in  the  newspaper  business  since 
those  very  pleasant  days. 

Chicago. 

Horatio  P.  McKeown 

One  day  a  big  little  man  came  to  Chicago  from  Cincinnati 
and  took  charge  of  The  Inter  Ocean  as  general  manager  and 
director,  with  full  control.  Changes  in  and  additions  were 
made  to  the  staff  and  equipment,  and  from  that  time  the  paper 

63 


began  to  win  its  way.  That  big  little  man  was  William  Penn 
Nixon,  whom  you  honor  with  this  banquet.  There  was  a 
struggle  for  years  with  active  enemies  and  strong  competitors. 
It  was  not  always  all  sunshine  in  the  counting  room,  and  in 
the  sanctum.  But  the  same  big  little  man  managed  and  con- 
trolled and  guided  in  both  those  important  posts,  and  he  finally 
won  the  great  battle,  and  made  The  Inter  Ocean  a  power  in  the 
land. 

Chicago. 


64 


M51 
P76 
\<\oS 


